


Mr. Detective

by ETNMystic



Series: Unlucky Number 12 [4]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Ableism, Abuse, Autistic OC, Dreamwalkers, Gen, Shamanism, cinnamon roll clown oc, infantilization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18626335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic
Summary: When Matt decides to give himself up to the clowns, they take him for strategizing. But when he meets a dreamwalker of the town, he decides to use what information he can to save Everlock from impending damnation.(Don't worry. Colleen's story WILL get finished. But c'mon. I love Matpat)Also I have a Discord server for AO3 Authors! Join here!:https://discord.gg/HdF4Zkq





	1. The Threat of Watery Bourbon

 

“So I’ll ask you one more time, pup,” the leader hisses, leaning in close to her ear.  
"Are you for sale?”

Ro’s legs begin to tremble as the clown leader holds the blade back up to her throat. Closing her eyes, she’s ready to just give herself up to them.

“I——“ she begins.

"Take me instead!" Matt snaps.

All eyes turn to him. The Detective has no clue what the hell he's doing, but whatever it is, hopefully it saves Ro from becoming these clowns' pet.

"You can have me. Just leave Ro alone."

Ro's breath begins to become heavy, but she feels the blade being slowly grazed across her neck. 

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Matt yells again.

Groaning, the leader pulls the blade away. Opening one eye, she sees the leader walking towards Matt, but she doesn't notice someone else untying her bonds.

"Oh well, well, well," the leader smirks.  
"Look who we have. Mr. Hero Detective over here. You think you're the reincarnation of the Hardy Boys or something?"

In a flash, she's behind him and has the blade to his neck. His heartbeat begins to race.

"But you're not brave, are you?" she whispers, leaning in real close.  
"You're just like to believe you are."

All of a sudden, he feels a flicking wetness in his ear. Next thing he knows the leader is smacking her lips, lost in thought, but still holds the blade up to his neck.

"Hmm," she ponders.  
"Not a lot of bravery, just as I thought."

Out of nowhere, she pauses and begins cackling.

"Oh ho ho ho ho! But a ton of intellect."

He feels wetness in his other ear, this one in more prolonged.

"Oh," the clown leader moans satisfied.  
"Oh yes, all of that intellect. So strong and ravishing! Wouldn't be all too surprised if he was like Little Lolly Lane."

All of a sudden, she hears a pair of footsteps launch to the ground. 

"Sally, dammit!" she snaps.  
"You couldn't have asked before taking the cutie?"

"She'll be a great companion for Lolly," she whines.  
"C'mon lemme keep her!"

The leader sighs reluctantly. 

"Fine, but the second Everlock's burnt, Lolly's becoming the Carnival Master's second daughter. Wait right here. I've got a fountain of intellect to your fountain of youth."

In a single swoop, she removes the blade from his neck and brings the blade down on his binds.

"Take me too!" Safiya snaps.

"Saf, no!" Matpat discourages. 

"Eh," the clown leader shrugs off.  
"We'll come back for her later. Right now I could use a drink."

Shoving Matt to the ground, he pushes himself up as the leader grabs him.

"Luke," she pants as she tightens her hold on his wrists.  
"You and Mickey stay here. The rest of us are gonna get a drink. I wanna see at least one body when I get back, or you're both getting the watery bourbon!"

And off they went.

 


	2. The Funny Way of Strategizing Starring Matpat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt gets temporary work as a strategist and meets a peculiar face. 
> 
> (CW: Vomiting)

"Git along, little doggies," the clown leader ushers them mockingly into a tent.  
"We don't have all night y'know!"

While Ro is lightly placed amongst a pile of blankets, pillows, and a plush puppy, Matt is violently dragged into a sort-of study and pushed into a desk chair. He's kind of shaking in his shoes, when the leader shoves a pile of papers on the desk in front of him, but he tries to keep calm. Reasonably, they seem to have some sort of use for him, so it's unlikely they're gonna kill him, right? Right? 

He really hopes he's right.

"Well," she snaps.  
"You seem smart. Am I wrong?"

Matt's not really sure how to answer this.

"Uh, well, that depends on your definition of smart," he begins.  
"You see, there are various types of---"

"Listen," she groans, stuffing a finger in his face.   
"I'm not here to be lectured at; I just need a strategist for our plans. Look over these, and write down if there are any holes in them and how to fix them. I'm gonna go take a drink break. I'll be back in half an hour. And don't miss anything!"

The leader shuts the door violently, causing him to jump. For a few moments, he's unable to say or do anything. But soon the shock wears off and he shrugs.

"Okay, guess I gotta look over these," he sighs as he picks up the first plan.  
"Not like I have a choice in the matter, of course."

* * *

 Half an hour later, the leader returns, a bit tipsy, as she holds a whiskey in her hands.

"Well, Doormatt," she announces.  
"Make any progress?"

"Uh, yeah, see, I actually wanted to talk to you about a few of them, namely all of them."

"What? What's wrong with them?"

Matt picks up one of the plans and turns it around.

"A little bit of a technicality, but all I'm being given here is this clown, who I assume is you, and you've got a gun and you're shooting a guy. Love the onomatopoeia of the "pew, pew," by the way." 

"I know," the clown leader giggles.  
"Isn't it great?"

"I mean, it's a start," he shrugs.  
"But your second plan's kind of the same thing. Instead this time you're stabbing a guy with a pink knife and you have the words 'stabby mcstabberson' in the background at least 1, 2, 3, 4.....four times. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the descriptor words, but everything else is.....lackluster and poorly planned."

"Okay? So what's the problem?" she asks, sounding more confused than angry.

"Well, in a nutshell, it's the plan itself. There's no strategy."

"Well, that's where you come in."

"I get that, but I have almost nothing to work off of. And even if I did, there's no variety. It's either shooting or stabbing. See, if you're gonna be a villain, you should have some variety or at least some sort of interesting modus operandi."

"What about this?" the clown leader asks exasperatedly as she picks up another drawing.

Matt takes a look at it and turns it around.

"This is just a drawing of you stabbing all of us on the carousel."

By now, the leader is losing patience. She's not used to being back talked in this way.

"Look," the clown leader growls.  
"I didn't graciously offered you this job just for you to be a smartass."

"I mean, this isn't exactly a job, persay. You're not exactly paying me---"

"You want payment?" she hisses as she pulls out a blade.  
"How about a blood payment?"

"Nah, I'm good, actually," he giggles nervously as he shifts back through the papers. 

She smiles devilishly, patting him on the head.

"That's a good boy," she condescends. 

Until....

"Lolly Lane! What are you doing?"

Whirling to the left, Matt spies a short, but stout clown girl in glasses wearing a pink beret, a creme orange and white striped shirt, and pink overalls. Her dirty-blonde hair is in pigtails and designed like French poodle ears, all curly at the bottoms. She trembles as the peeks out from around the corner. Without a word, she begins to rock on her feet.

"I thought I told you not to interfere," the leader snaps.  
"And stop rocking on your feet. It pisses me off."

"But.....but I get uncomfortable if I don't do something with my feet, Miss Kerrie," she whimpers in a cute, soft voice, looking down at the floor.

"I don't care. And look me in the eye when I'm talking to you. Or do you want me to start calling you........Little Lark?"

She gives an "eep!" and looks up at Kerrie who stumbles over and pats her on the head.

"That's a good gir----"

She's interrupted by something in her stomach. The next thing she knows, there's sick on the floor.

"Well," she huffs.  
"Clean that mess up."

"But......but....."

"But what,..........Little Lark?"

"Eep! Yes, Miss Kerrie!"

She rushes off to get a mop and a bucket of water

"I'm gonna go see how Luke and Mickey are doing with the others. If I don't got a corpse out of one of them, then let's hope you didn't know Gal in Red too personally."

Stumbling through the doorway, she heads off. Meanwhile Matt throws the plans down on the desk and goes after the girl. Rushing around the corner, he sees that now Safiya and Ro are together. In this room, it's where he now fully hears a distorted record playing  _Mr. Sandman._

"How'd you get here?" he asks.

"I broke free using my super strength, no biggie," she shrugs.  
"Just kidding. Sally broke me free. Any idea who that girl was?"

"The one who just ran around here?"

Safiya nods.

"The clown lady called her Lolly Lane, but other than that, I don't know."

Safiya checks right to left to make sure no one's looking before leaning in and whispering.

"Wanna find out?"

"Heck yeah!"

"Watch your profanity, Matthew!" Ro scolds playfully as she snuggles with Blueberry on the ground.  
"Anyway, I wanna come too."

"We never said we weren't gonna let you," Safiya giggles.  
"Of course you can come."

"Great!" she replies shooting to her feet, Blueberry in her hands.   
"Then let's go."

* * *

As they're walking, Safiya realizes something odd.

"You know, I feel like I've known you two before in a past life or something. But it was like here in Everlock and......I sound crazy, don't I?"

"No, no," Ro assures her.  
"Maybe, kinda. But it IS weird. I feel like all three of us just kinda......gravitated towards each other. I mean, I know Matthew, but I don't---"

"Shh!" Matt exclaims, holding his arm out to stop them.  
"I think that's her."

In the distance, they spy a girl struggling to carry a large bucket of water. Slowly they approach her and they make eye contact. She gasps and freezes. For a few moments, no one moves or says a word. Then Matt tries to approach her and out of fear, she drops the water and rushes off in the opposite direction. 

"Wait!" Matt yells as he, Ro, and Safiya dash off.

 


	3. Lolling Around

"Wait!" Matt yells out as she runs into the neck of the woods.

They reach an area of the woods with a well in the center, but this girl is nowhere to be found. All of a sudden, Ro perks up as she hears soft sniffling. Slowly she peeks around the well to find the girl in a ball in tears. It immediately breaks her heart. Turning around, she quietly gestures to Matt and Safiya to look. As they do, the girl looks up slowly and turns to see them. 

"Eep!" she squeaks as she crab walks back a bit.  
"Wh-ho are you?" 

She's trembling intensely, causing her to fall back to the ground.

"Hey, it's okay," Ro assures her softly.  
"We're not gonna hurt you."

The girl looks at each of them one by one, staring at Matt for the longest.

"I saw you," she whispers, pointing at him.  
"I saw you sacrifice yourself in the hopes of saving your friend."

"When?" he asks confused.  
"At the carousel? I don't remember seeing you then."

It seems she's realized she said something she shouldn't have because she starts shaking her head.

"Never mind," she replies quickly, standing back up.  
"I need to get a new bucket of water."

"We'll help you," Safiya offers.

"No," she denies quietly, trying to leave.  
"I don't need help."

"Are you sure?" Matt questions.  
"You looked like you were really struggling back there."

"It's cuz I'm a wimp," she grumbles cutely, but also sadly.  
"You three should get out before they find you again, or you might end up like me."

"What happened to you?" Ro asks kindly.

"You don't need to know."

"We want to help."

"Please go away."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"Lolly Lane?" 

Lolly gasps.

"It's Kerrie. I'm sorry. I can't say anything more."

"We want to help you and your town."

Lolly falls silent for a second.

"This isn't my town," she admits quietly.

"Lolly Lane, why haven't you cleaned it up yet? Maybe you need to spend some time in the.......bird cage."

"Eep! I'm sorry, I really have to go. If you really wanna help, talk to me later, please."

And she ran off.

"She seems sweet," Ro replies.

"She's hiding something," Safiya suspects.

"What did she mean by that?" Matt wonders.  
"This isn't my town."

Suddenly he gets an idea.

"Maybe it'd be better if one of us talks with her. I'll do it."

"Why?" 

"It's like she said, she saw me before. You two, I dunno, maybe stay here?"

"That sounds like a bad idea," Safiya cautions.  
"I'll do it if it means we can get some answers, but this is a REALLY BAD IDEA."

"I promise you'll be fine," Matt assures her.  
"I'm gonna go find her."

And off he ran, leaving them alone in the woods.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This can only lead to good things......


	4. Speaking Volumes

Lolly prays to any deity she can think of as she rushes back to the bucket, hoping that she didn't spill it. If she's late to clean the mess, who knows what Kerrie has in store for her? How long would she be in the bird cage? Even the mere thought makes her sick to her stomach, but it's her reality. She wishes it wasn't, but this is the hand she was dealt back in 1975. 

Skidding to a halt, she's relieved to see that she hadn't spilled any water.

"Oh, thank my lucky stars!" she breathes in relief as she picks up the bucket.  
"Hopefully Miss Kerrie will kill me less painfully."

She rushes to the tent to see Kerrie waiting for her with a mop in one hand and a drink in the other.

"I....I brought the bucket, Miss Kerrie," she exhales in fright. 

"About time," Kerrie snaps as she tosses the mop  
"Now get to cleaning."

Hurried, Lolly dips the mop in and sets to work cleaning. Thankfully it doesn't take too long. 

"A-all finished, Miss Kerrie," she whimpers after five continuous minutes of cleaning, her arms aching from gripping the handle of the mop so tightly.

Kerrie, still a little slurry, approaches the spot. Groaning she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a towel, throwing it on the floor.

"Dry it."

Immediately Lolly drops to her knees and dries up the spot. 

"All dry, M-miss Kerrie."

"About time."

Unsure of what to do, Lolly glances at the floor, trying not to rock on her feet. By this time, Matt has caught up and is listening in. 

"Well?" Kerrie snaps.  
"Don't you got other things to do?"

"No, not really, Miss Kerrie."

"Then make something to do."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You're smart. You figure that shit out! Or do we need to take a trip to the bird cage?"

Lolly freezes on the spot and shakes her head.

"What was that?" Kerrie smirks condescendingly as she leans in close.  
"You're going to need to speak up......Little.....Lark."

She clicks the K, making it seem as though it was fired from the barrel of a gun, hitting against Lolly's eardrums.

"N-n-n-no, Miss K-Kerrie," she trembles. 

"No what, Little Lark?"

"No, I d-don't need to g-g-go to the b-b-b-b-ird c-c-c-c-cage!"

"Quit your stupid stuttering, and say it like you mean it!"

"NO, I DON'T NEED TO GO TO THE BIRD CAGE!"

There's a moment of silence.

"You.......yelled," Kerrie whispers in realization before cackling villainously and yelling.  
"You yelled at me! That's against the rules!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Kerrie. I didn't know---!"

"I don't care about your volume problems! Rules are rules, and you just broke one. You know what that means, right?"

She drags out this last word knowingly, taunting the poor girl who's already caught on.

"No," she gasps terrified at the implication.  
"No please, I'll be good! Just please don't--"

"Yes, that's ten minutes in the bird cage tonight, Little Lark! And if you're not careful, I might just add on more. I'll come get you at ten to midnight. We've got quite an audience tonight."

She exits through the roller disco door and the second she's gone, Lolly loses it. And by loses it, she really just throws a pillow against the door and sticks her tongue out at the door before falling into the pile of blankets and pillow, weeping in agony. 

 

 


	5. Meeting Little Lolly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt gets to know Lolly and decides to try to help her out of her punishment.
> 
> (CW: Stroking mention, birdcage)

Matt watches the girl for just a little longer before he resolves to do something. His heart is breaking for the poor girl in agony, but his mind has set to work on how to approach the situation. His feet, and the rest of him, creep inside the tent and approach the weeping clown girl.

"Hey," he greets her soothingly as he slowly sits beside her.

Hearing him, Lolly sits up, whirls around, and gasps. Taking a pillow, she starts whacking him in the face with it.

"Get away from me!" she snaps through her tears.

"Stop it!" Matt pleads in between hits.  
"I just wanna help you out."

Soon enough Lolly tires herself out and just starts crying again. Matt reaches out to rub her back, but she shrinks away. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he promises.

"Neither do they," she cries as she begins to rock back and forth.   
"At least not physically."

"They?"

"The clowns," she sniffles.  
"But when I'm in the birdcage.......Oh God. It makes me sick to even think about it."

Then out of nowhere, she closes her eyes and becomes rather rigid, as if she's trying to concentrate on something. All of a sudden, she reaches out into the air and pulls out a handkerchief, which she uses to wipe her eyes and glasses and going back to rocking as if nothing ever happened. Meanwhile Matt is dumbfounded.

"What was that?" he wonders in amazement.

Hearing this she drops the handkerchief. 

"I did it again!" she sighs disappointed.  
"Now I owe Cinnamon a song."

"Who?"

"She's one of the only clowns who's actually nice to me outside of the birdcage."

There's a moment of silence as Matt tries to weave a path for how to ask her about this birdcage and the name "Little Lark."

"It requires a bit of a lengthy explanation," she answers out of nowhere.

"W-what does?"

Lolly turns to look at him as if he just announced he believes the earth is flat.

"The birdcage, of course."

"How did you know that I wanted to ask about that?"

With this she gives a little mischievous smirk and her right eye looks up to the left. 

"Oh," she replies.  
"I can read your mind."

Matt blinks in amazement.

"Wha....how?"

"Just kidding!" she giggles cutely, booping him on the nose.  
"Girl's intuition!"

"Sort of the same thing, I guess," he chuckles quietly.

"I guess you're right."

She holds out her gloved hand.

"Do you want my clown name or my other name?" she tries to clarify.

"You have two names?"

"Duh!" she scoffs as she pulls back her hand.  
"I wasn't a clown my whole life, ya dingus!"

Immediately his mind remembers the phrase she said earlier.

_"This isn't my town."_

And he puts the pieces together. 

"Where did they take you from?" he whispers out of concern. 

Hearing this, her smile softens into one of intrigue, thankfulness, and surprise and her eyes widen.

"Wow. You're the first person who's actually caught on to that."

"That.....wasn't sarcasm, right?"

"No, I swear it's not," she replies in relief.  
"I've tried this with so many others at the carnival and no one's ever caught on until now! Honestly you're some kind of super genius compared to the rest of this town, no offense."

"None taken," she shrugs.  
"But where did they take you from?"

"Minneapolis."

"Minneapolis?" he gasps in disbelief, thinking about the distance in between the two places.

She nods ruefully.

"I was sixteen years old, and it was this Halloween carnival going on throughout the month. I went with a couple of my friends and we stopped to watch one of the attractions. They all went to get popcorn and I decided to stay behind. All of a sudden, I saw this snow-white rabbit, and it was staring at me. I figured that maybe it was someone's pet, and I got curious, so I went after it. It led me behind this tent, and once I was there, I started to have a bad feeling in my stomach. Then out of nowhere, out pops Ms. Kerrie and she puts a cloth to my mouth.  
"Next thing I knew, I was tied up surrounded by other clowns and one of them had a knife to my throat. Of course I was terrified, but then the clown with the dark pigtails, Sally, saw me and she started fawning over me and begged Kerrie to let me live with them. I saw that she was reluctant so that was when I revealed......"

She trails off, much to Matt's dismay. 

"Revealed what?"

She stares at him, puzzled.

"You're not from here, are you?"

He shakes his head.

"No, I actually live several miles---"

"No! I mean, from 1978."

"Oh. No, I'm not from then either."

She breathes a sigh of relief. 

"I guess you don't have dreamwalkers or clairvoyants when you come from then."

This makes him even more confused.

"Dreamwalkers? Clairvoyants? I mean, clairvoyants are still a thing, but what's a dreamwalker?"

"It's what I am," she sighs.  
"I have clairvoyance and I'm a dreamwalker. Well, I'm sort of a dreamwalker. I interact more with visions and waking dreams, but I can still sort of do what traditional dreamwalkers do. My type of dreamwalking is more of a.......dreamcollecting. It's what I did with the handkerchief."

"I was meaning to ask you about that, but what do you mean traditional shamanism?"

"I guess it's not actually traditional, given that most of what shamanism is known for is from Asia, but I think I have Celtic blood, because there are also practices of shamanism found in Irish lineage. Anyway, traditional dreamwalkers are lucid dreamers who travel through dreams to other worlds to gather and pass on information."

She begins to fiddle with her poodle-ear pigtail.

"I....can do some of that, but I have to concentrate really hard. And with what I've got, it's really difficult to concentrate."

"What do you mean?"

"I've got some disorders," she confesses sheepishly.  
"I'm not so good at social stuff and I'm not so good at focusing on some things."

"Oh," Matt replies.

They sit there for a while until Matt breaks the silence.

"You said you have two names. What are they?"

"Huh?" Lolly exclaims cutely, blinking.  
"Sorry. I got kinda lost in thought."

"It's fine. You said you had two names. What are they?"

"Oh," she replies sheepishly.  
"Actually, I've kinda got three. My clown name's Lollypop Lane, but usually they call me Little Lolly cuz I'm short in height. And when I'm being bad, they start calling me Little Lark and when they do that......oh God."

"Oh God?" Matt gasps.

She nods shamefully.

"It started after they found out about my singing. I've been told I sing pretty, but I think I'm just okay. But whenever they call me Little Lark, it's to indicate that I'm on the verge of getting put in........the birdcage for a night performance."

"What's the birdcage?" Matt ventures to ask.

She gulps.

"It's a giant golden cage on a hook nailed down to the stage," she stammers.  
"There's just enough room for me to sit on the little swing in there. But this isn't your ordinary large birdcage. They've got these hand-sized holes in the back of it, so they can reach in and.......stroke me. And they'll whisper things in my ear. They'll whisper them all creepy."

"You don't have to tell me anymore," Matt assures her, seeing how frightened she's getting just by talking about this.

"And now, I gotta go through that tonight," she whimpers.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Matt grumbles angry at the clowns' treatment of this poor girl.  
"C'mon. I'll take you to my friends and then we can go find the others."


	6. Diversions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt, Ro, and Safiya try to sneak Lolly into their hideout. But once there, she's met with some hostility.

As Matt leads her back to the well, Lolly's shaking the whole way there. Her eyes dart left as right as her knees knock together, making it difficult for her to walk. 

"I don't think Miss Kerrie wants me to leave that tent," she trembles.  
"Maybe we should go back."

"No way," Matt replies without hesitation.  
"What they're doing to you is wrong. We just need to get Ro and Safiya and then we'll take you back to the others. You'll be safe with them."

They reach the entrance of the woods to find the two of them still sitting there. Immediately, Lolly hides behind Matt.

"Well, we didn't get kidnapped or killed," Safiya sighs in relief.  
"Did you manage to find her?"

Matt gestures behind him to reveal the trembling little clown girl. Ro's heart immediately begins to melt.

"I just wanna cuddle her so badly," Ro squeals.

In response Lolly shakes her head and backs up whimpering. 

"She's a bit touch aversive," Matt informs Ro.   
"But the clowns are abusive to her. We need to take her to the others, if they're not still on the carousel. Where are they?"

"They're all hiding in the arcade lounge," Safiya tells him.  
"I saw them run inside just before I was taken captive."

"Then let's go," Ro exclaims.

"But what if the clowns are guarding the arcade?" Lolly worries.

"Can you see if they are?" Matt asks.

Lolly tries to focus, but she begins to scrunch her face, and then her hands grasp the sides of her head before she finally gives up, gasping.

"I'm too scared," she exclaims apologetically.  
"Whenever I get too scared, the fear overrides my thoughts and it makes my inner visions fuzzy."

"Inner visions?" Safiya wonders. 

"It's a long story," Matt sighs.  
"We'll just have to risk it."

* * *

As they walk to the arcade, keeping an eye out for clowns, Matt notices Lolly staring curiously at Ro, who's to her right. Slowly and timidly, she reaches out a timid hand to the cute little Jetsetter, but pulls back when she looks down at her, whimpering. She repeats this a few times until she, taking a deep breath, grabs onto the cinnamon roll's thumb, causing Ro to gasp.

"I'm sorry," Lolly squeaks.  
"I didn't mean to...."

"You don't have to apologize," Ro assures her.  
"Baby steps are better than feeling defeated."

Lolly, now a little more at ease by this, begins to rub Ro's thumb. 

"It's so warm," she gasps in awe. 

She begins to move on up, until she reaches the palm. She seems to sense that Ro is a nice person, because she grasps the palm with such affection. Around the same time, they arrive at the arcade to, unfortunately, find a few clowns waiting for them. Lolly grabs onto Ro, shrinking back like a scared little bunny. 

"Gal in Red!" she hears Kerrie yell.  
"C'mon out! It's your time to shine."

"How are we gonna sneak her in now?" Safiya whispers.

Matt gives this some thought before it comes to him. 

"You and Ro sneak her in. I'll distract the clowns."

"No," Lolly whimpers.  
"I don't wanna lose you either."

"I'm sorry, Lolly," he sighs.  
"But I gotta do this. I'll try to make it back safely."

"Lemme distract them," she exclaims, trying to be brave.  
"I can do it."

Even Safiya can't help but purse her lips at the endearing determination of this girl.

"But that'd kinda defeat the purpose of this mission," Matt tells her. 

"I'll distract them," Safiya volunteers.

Before anyone can say another word, Safiya begins running out.

"Hey!" she snaps waving her arms wildly as she runs.  
"Look at me, clowns!" 

"Hey, that's Morticia!" Sally exclaims.  
"Let's get her!"

Safiya leads them away and Matt and Ro use this opportunity to sneak Lolly inside the arcade. They duck down behind the windows as they hear.

"We got her!" Luke shouts.

"Let's take her back to the tent," Sally cackles.  
"I'm sure Nicholas will be very happy to have a bride like her."

Lolly gasps in terror and prepares to sprint out, but Matt and Ro hold her back.

"I can't just let her get taken!" Lolly whispers fearfully.

"But we can't let you get taken either," Ro defends.

After sometime, the clowns escape with Saf. Lolly feels tears come to her eyes.

"Why didn't you let me save her?" she exclaims through her cries.

"Because we all want you safe," Matt explains.  
"Now follow me. The others should be somewhere."

All of a sudden, Lolly's eyes fall on a refrigerator and she runs over to it.

"Uh, I don't think they're gonna be in there," Matt chuckles.

But she pries it over and boom! Secret passageway.

"Shit, someone's coming," they hear Manny whisper.

Matt, shrugging in disbelief, heads inside first, Lolly up second, with Ro bringing up the rear. But as soon as she lays eyes on the group, Lolly begins to regret coming here. 

"Matt? Ro?" Nikita asks in anger.  
"Why the hell did you bring one of the KILLER CLOWNS in here?"

 


	7. I'm Not a Child!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My foot fell asleep while I was working on this and when I tried to get up, I think I sprained my toe.

Lolly trembles at the knees, as she brakes to a halt, causing Nikita to be shocked.

"Bitch, why aren't you attacking?" she exclaims.

"I'm sorry," she squeaks.  
"I know I'm incompetent."

"You aren't incompetent," Matt assures her before turning to the others.  
"And she's not evil. She's been held captive by the clowns since she was sixteen."

"Oh sure," Nikita scoffs.  
"Like we'll believe that."

She marches up to Lolly and confronts her, who turns away and scrunches her eyes shut.

"What did you do to Matpat? Did you brainwash him?"

Lolly simply whimpers in response.

"Bitch, look me in the eyes!" Nikita snaps as she grabs her arms suddenly.

Hearing this, Lolly screams and drops to the floor yanking herself out of Nikita's grasp, beginning to rock and covering her ears as tears fall from her eyes.

"So NOW you're cracking? What do you have to say for yourself?" 

"Nikita, stop it," Joey reprimands her sternly.  
"She's overwhelmed."

"By guilt?"

"No, by her senses."

"What do you mean?" Colleen wonders.

"I think she may have autism," Joey theorizes sympathetically.

"How would you know what autism looks like?" Nikita scoffs.

"Because I have a younger brother who is autistic. She's definitely not the same as my brother, but her struggle with eye contact and even her rocking could show that she's on the spectrum."

Hearing this, Nikita looks sheepish and crestfallen.

"Oh," she exclaims embarrassed as she leans down to comfort her.  
"Hey, I'm sorry--."

"I think," Joey interrupts sternly.  
"We should give her some space and time and make sure she doesn't do anything to hurt herself."

They wait for a while until she calms down, Nikita feeling ashamed all the while. Once Lolly feels calm, she goes up to Nikita and glares at her. 

"Please don't EVER touch me again without my consent," she scolds her firmly, but kindly.

Matt and Ro are a bit shocked at her assertiveness.

"How are you---?" Matt begins.

"I'm not as afraid of a neon-pink-wearing stranger as I am of the clowns, especially when it comes to my own boundaries."

"So, not to pry or anything, but do you have autism by any chance?" Joey asks curiously.

Lolly nods.

"I am autistic, indeed," she sighs.  
"I know I don't look like what you'd normally picture someone like me to look like, but that was part of why I was diagnosed so late. And part of why I think Sally treats me the way she does."

She grumbles out this last sentence with disdain and frustration.

"What do you mean?" Teala wonders.  
"How does she treat you?"

"I mean, I guess I should be grateful," Lolly reconsiders.  
"After all, if she hadn't thought I was so damn cute, I'd probably be dead before I could reveal.....certain things."

"What things?" Roi pries.

"Sorry, but I don't trust you all yet," she blurts out.  
"Especially not Miss Neon Pink over there."

"I didn't know you--" Nikita begins.

"Doesn't matter," Lolly interrupts matter-of-factly, but with some anger.  
"You don't touch anyone without their consent unless it's an emergency."

"So how does Sally treat you?" Manny continues.

"Like a child," Lolly huffs.  
"Or a puppy. I guess to sum it up; innocent. I swear, the more I get called that, the more I actually WANT to murder someone or become a stripper."

"Oh honey, you and me both," Nikita adds.

Everyone stares at her in shock.

"For the stripper thing," she clarifies.  
  
"Okay, let's clear some things up," Lolly announces glaring down Nikita.  
"First, don't call me honey. You're not allowed to call me anything but Lollypop. Second, please do not force me to make eye contact. Third, please do not touch me without my consent. Fourth, please do not shout at me. None of these are suggestions. These are mandatory so that I don't waste your time by being stuck in a shutdown when we could be saving your gorgeous vampire-looking lady friend."

"I'm sorry. Who are you talking about?" Teala exclaims in shock.

"It's Safiya," Matt sighs.  
"She's been taken captive by the clowns. She was trying to distract them so we could get Lolly in here."

"Okay, I know that it's really cool," JC pipes up.  
"That not all of the clowns are actually out to kill us, but we need to find these parts to cleanse the jack-in-the-box AND save Saf."

"Then we each go in groups of 3," Colleen shrugs.

"Okay," Joey pipes up.  
"Nikita, Manny, and Colleen, you three go to the disco tent. Teala, Roi, and JC, you three go to the big top. Ro and Matt, we'll go to save Saf."

"I'll come too!" Lolly declares.

"I think you shouldn't," Joey shakes his head.  
"It's too dangerous."

"Then I'll go to the disco tent."

"No, you won't," Colleen scolds.  
"It's too dangerous."

"Then I'll go to---"

"Not the big top," Teala denies.  
"It's too dangerous."

"Then what the hell CAN I do?"

"You can stay here where it's safe, sweetie," Colleen tells her in a patronizing tone.

Lolly glares at her, but before she can say anything....

"Alright, let's go!" Joey announces.  
"Calliope, Mortimer, make sure she doesn't go anywhere."

And the three groups leave the lounge and leave Calliope and Mortimer with Lolly, who already has her frustrated mind working at top speed to figure out a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW I think someone asked early on if Lolly's autistic, but it seems they deleted their comment. 
> 
> Sorry I didn't respond. I wasn't offended at the question.
> 
> I was just shocked that someone caught on so quickly.


	8. Lolly's Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lollypop's tired of being underestimated.

**(Lollypop's POV):**

I feel exceptionally frustrated. For 3 to 43 years, I've been abused and infantilized by the clowns. And now I'm being infantilized by complete strangers? I should be in charge of this whole expedition or mission or whatever this is. Even if this isn't my town, I still know a whole lot more about it than they do. I want nothing more than to just go out there and prove that she's not as delicate and soft as everyone takes her for. 

But man, are those two people vigilant as hell! Every time I try to escape, they'd always tell my to come back inside. I'm not sure what it is, but it's something about that woman, I think her name's Calliope, that puts me at ease, which is part of why I come back. 

"I'm not as fragile as I look!" I complain the fifth time I'm caught, stamping my foot and pouting.  
"C'mon! Lemme go out there and show them what I can do."

I ball my hands into fists and growl as viciously as I can, but I can tell that Calliope's trying to suppress a giggle. She probably sees me as an angry little kitten.

"It's too dangerous, child," she tries to soothe.  
"We don't want you getting captured."

"I'm not gonna get captured!"

"You don't know that."

Yeah, I very well know that I'll probably get captured, but it's better to have tried than to have done nothing at all.

"I don't care! Lemme go out there and put up a fight."

"It's too dangerous for you."

At this point, I'm past the point of "Done," and just decide "Screw it!"

"That's it!" I exclaim angrily.  
"I'm going out there and fighting and you can't stop me, you......you......weenies!"

Sticking my tongue out, I dash out of the lounge. Those two rush after me, but I'm prepared. And yet so are they. They keep on my trail for some time until I duck into the big top and hide behind some of the crates just as Sally enters.

"Come out and play, little chickadees! Knock-knock!" she calls out in a sing-song voice.

My heart is beating at a thousand miles an hour. Sally's not terrible, not as terrible as Miss Kerrie at least, but she's not great either. I wish it was High Tower instead. She's almost always drunk, so even if she were to chase after me, she wouldn't get very far without stumbling and probably tripping. 

After a while, thankfully,

"I'll just go tell her they're not here. They're not here."

Sally leaves and I breathe a sigh of relief, but that relief is short-lived when the Hippie Man, the Sneaky Girl, and the Daredevil Guy spot me.

"Lollypop!" Sneaky Girl exclaims.

I sigh. That extra syllable's going to waste time. 

"Why aren't you in the lounge?"

"Because I refuse to just let you all go into this blind," I rebuttal.  
"I don't know if it's been 3 or 43 years, but like it or not, I have the high-ground over you ten because I've been here longer. I know the majority of this town like the back of my hand. So if you want to cleanse this jack-in-the-box, you're going to need my help."

"But this is too dangerous," Daredevil Guy protests.  
"They'll probably try to capture you."

"I  _know_ what I'm risking by being out of my tent."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean you'll be safe," Sneaky Girl whispers.  
"Maybe one of us should escort her back to the lounge."

I shake my head. 

"Look, the more time we spend arguing over my safety, the less time you have to find the spring."

"She's right," the Hippie Man shrugs.  
"It's gonna be better for us to just keep going."

"Fine," Sneaky Girl sighs.

"Okay, so we still need to fill up the helium balloons."

The Hippie Man goes over to the helium tank and I panic, covering my ears and shutting my eyes.

 _"What's going on?"_ I hear Daredevil Guy ask through my muffled hearing.

 _"Maybe this was one of the shutdowns she was talking about?"_ Sneaky Girl suggests.

 _Well, you're kinda right,_ I think. 

Once the helium tank stops, I cautiously open my eyes and ears.

"You were right to cover your ears," Hippie Man tells me.  
"That helium tank is  _loud._ "

I nod in agreement. 

"You need to tie the balloons to Zero-G Man, right?" I ask.

They nod.

"How did you---?" Daredevil Man begins.

"I've seen others try the same thing. You're not the first group here. Anyway, I've learned from observation that a double pretzel knot works best."

I demonstrate the double-pretzel knot for them. Sure enough, it stay on Zero-G Man no matter how hard they pull. They try it for themselves, and eventually we get him floating in the air. Well, at least hovering, but it's enough to open the chest containing the spring. 

"There's a note," Sneaky Girl gasps.

She picks it up and reads it aloud.

_This artifact requires one more piece to be replaced—_

"Here's Sally!"

I try not to yelp as the pig-tailed clown in question enters with her nail bat. 

"C'mon," I whisper harshly to the others.

"Having a party without me?" chuckles Sally as we nope the hell out of there with the spring and note.  
"Ya little bitches?"

We dash all the way back to Flint's Arcade to find everyone safe: American Sherlock, Warm Thumb, Miss Neon-Pink, Emerald Man, Discount Fred, Fur Lady, and thankfully.....

"Vampire Lady!" I exclaim, jumping excitedly and flapping my hands.  
"You're okay."

"It was a close call," she sighs.  
"That bitch Kerrie nearly spotted me leaving, but we got away in time. But why did you leave the lounge?"

I explain it to them as calmly as possible.

"So in short, you're going to need me."

"She's right," Hippie Man agrees.  
"She helped us get Zero G Dude up in the air."

"And we got a note," Sneaky Girl adds, finally reading it, but what I hear makes my heart drop.

_This artifact requires one more piece to be replaced to be fully restored: a new jack. Two must be selected by vote to undertake a deadly challenge to recover it. Choose wisely. One of you will not make it out alive. For this unique trial, the two selected must choose a partner to fight for them._

 

 


End file.
